Massage Therapy

Massage doesn’t have to be an expensive luxury any more. Momentum is offering massage therapy in a comfortable environment, by outstanding massage therapists, at reasonable prices.

Debra Clift, BA, LMT, CMCP grew up in a US Navy family and graduated from UC San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts degree; major in Psychology. After eighteen years as a flight attendant for Pan Am and Northwest Airlines she changed career paths. Five years as an office manager for a Memphis aviation asset management company helped hone her customer service and organization skills.

While there, she helped fellow employees with headaches and muscle pain using techniques she had experienced during treatments by other massage therapists. After graduation from The Massage Institute of Memphis and receiving her Tennessee Massage license, she began her massage practice.

Tara Canova, PTA, LMT has been active from an early age in dance, yoga, martial arts and competitive equestrian sports. With direct experience in managing and resolving sports injuries, she understands the toll athletics can take on the body.

This lifelong interest in health and fitness has led to a diversity of experience ranging from volunteering as an EMT in her hometown, to managing the office of an exclusive private gym in NYC, to employment as a PT Aide while attending massage school. Shortly after graduating from Healing Hands Institute of Massage Therapy in Westwood, NJ in 2004 Tara relocated to TN where she honed her manual therapy skills in a variety of settings. Desiring to do more for individuals with soft tissue injuries, she attended West Kentucky Community and Technical College in Paducah, KY and obtained her PTA credentials in 2013. Tara specializes in deep tissue and therapeutic massage.

We all know that massage feels great, but a growing body of evidence suggests muscle therapy provides a long and varied list of health benefits. In fact, more people get their muscles kneaded and rubbed for medical purposes than they do for relaxation or pampering, according to a recent survey. You know massage helps reduce stress and tension; here are some more potential benefits, based on research compiled by the American Massage Therapy Association:

Relieve chronic low-back pain.
Nearly everyone at some point has back pain that interferes with work and daily activities; if it lasts more than three months, it’s considered chronic. One study showed people with long-lasting low-back pain who got a one-hour Swedish or structural massage once a week for 10 weeks felt and functioned significantly better and faster than those who received standard medical care; they also used less over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs. Other research found massage helps with osteoarthritis of the knee pain, fibromyalgia and nerve pain, among others.

Ease anxiety.
A review of studies that measured the stress hormone, Cortisol, in people before and immediately after massage found the therapy lowered levels by up to about 50%. Massage also increased serotonin and dopamine, two neurotransmitters that help reduce depression. That may play into why massage has been shown to help people with anxiety disorders, to increase calm before surgery and to decrease stress and depression in cancer patients; in fact, a recent Turkish study found back massages given during chemotherapy significantly reduced anxiety and fatigue.

Reduce blood pressure
Women with prehypertension (or slightly elevated blood pressure) who received three 10-minute Swedish massages a week for 10 total sessions lowered their pressure more than patients who relaxed in the same environment but with no massage, according to a small study. Other more recent research on 35 older adults showed therapeutic massage also helped reduce blood pressure, as well as improve stability.

Boost immunity.
Massage may give the immune system a boost by helping to increase activity levels of natural killer T cells, which fight off viruses and tumors. Past, preliminary science suggested full-body massage enhanced immune function of women with breast cancer; a newer but also early study on premature babies came to a similar conclusion: Those who received massage therapy had more active killer immune cells (and gained weight faster), compared with infants in the control group.

So schedule an appointment with Debra or Tara soon.

Debra Clift, LMT: (901) 230-7066, all day Wednesdays, and Monday afternoons. Debra also provides massage cupping! Visit www.massagecupping.com to learn more about it.